Ruminations and ponderings by the Last of the Montgomery Rebels Fans on the Montgomery Biscuits and Montgomery Alabama area baseball history.

Mr.850's View

I have invited my good friend and colleague Mr.850 to share his
insight on Biscuits baseball - a subject of which he knows a thing or
two. He wanted to start with a brief summation of the previous season,
so here we offer the first installment of such.

Please welcome, Mr.850.

2015 Season in Review

Whats New for 2015

PITCH CLOCK
Minor
league baseball will implement pace of game clocks at triple-A and
Double-A levels. The clocks are working at the start of the 2015 season,
but will not be enforced until May 1st. The clocks are to be used to
help pick up the pace of the game. The clock would allow pitchers 20
second to start the wind up to pitch, if the pitcher fails to do so the
batter will be awarded a ball. The batter too must be ready and in the
batters box with at least five seconds left in the clocks or he will be
awarded a strike.

The
clock will also be used in between innings and on pitching changes
during an inning. The clock will allow 2:25 to the windup of a pitch to
start an inning, or resume play after a pitching change.

I'm
not sure how much the clock sped up the game as I never saw a pitcher
get penalized, and most pitchers had time to spare, maybe just with the
clock being there made the pitchers a little more ready to keep the game
moving. I did hear of one batter being penalized for a strike on a road
game, but as far as I know that is the only time someone was penalized
during a Biscuits game in 2015.

TEAM & LEAGUE CHANGES

The
Southern league also had a new look to start the 2015 season. The
Huntsville stars became the Biloxi Shuckers, eventually. The new stadium
in Biloxi was to be ready to start the season, but was not ready until
June. This forced the Shuckers to start playing home games in Huntsville
and play some "home" games on the road until their new digs were ready
for play.

The Southern league divisions had to be reset with the move of Huntsville to Biloxi.

The
Northern Division would welcome the Montgomery Biscuits and Biloxi
would join the Southern Division. The North Division would now consist
of the three TN teams (Jackson Generals, Tn Smokies, and Chatt Lookouts)
and the Southern Division would now consist of two Ms. teams (Braves
& Shuckers) and two Fla teams, (Suns & Wahoos). The three
Alabama teams would be split, Birmingham and Montgomery in the North
Division, Mobile in the South Division.

The
Lookouts would also sport a new look as they said goodbye to the LA
Dodgers as a parent club and welcome the MN Twins as a new face in the
Southern league. With the new affiliate change the SL was now with four
AL teams and six NL clubs represented.

ALLSTAR GAME
The
last major change for '15 was the AllStar Game being awarded to
Montgomery, as Mobile skipped their turn. So Montgomery would host the
ASG on June 23rd.

BALLPARK UPDATES

Can you dig it? That's a "yes"!

The start of the 2015 season also brought a few new looks to
Riverwalk Stadium and the Montgomery Biscuits. The Riverwalk playing surface
was new, as the field was dug up in the off season to install new drainage under
the field. This would help as the swamp behind the second baseman during 2014
rain delays was making the field unplayable at times.

In addition to the
drainage and field the warning track was extended around the right field bull
pen mound, with some of the warning track being in play on the right field
line.

OFFICE CHANGES

The Montgomery Biscuits also had a couple of new looks to start the
2015 season. Scott Trible would start the season as the Biscuits General
Manager, as he was promoted to the position during the 2014 season.

The
Biscuits would also wear new jerseys to begin the 2015 season, the jerseys would
look the same, but are made of lighter material in hopes that the 'skits would
not get as hot under the collar at home. Hopefully cooler Biscuits at home
would translate into more home wins for the Butter and Blue.

Selected as the AA Team of the Year by Minor League Baseball, Sporting News
fans voted "Biscuits" as best team name in Minor League
Baseball.

Familiar and New Faces for 2015Field Staff

Brady Williams

Brady Williams
returns for his second season as the skipper for the Biscuits. Brady had a
66-74 finish for 2014. This will be Brady's seventh season as a manager and a
tenth season as coach or manager for the Rays system. Brady's career record as
manager 389-377.

RC Lichtenstein - Pitching Coach - returns for his
fourth season in Montgomery and his eleventh in the Rays system.

Ozzie
Timmons - Hitting Coach - returns for his seventh season with Montgomery and
tenth year of coaching. Ozzie the fan favorite has developed a great
relationship with the local fans and kids. Timmons played professionally for 16
seasons including several stops in the Major Leagues, Japan and
Mexico.

Kris Russell - Trainer - returns to Montgomery for his fourth
season, and ninth season with the Rays system.

2015 Biscuits - Meet the
Biscuits
Returning Players

Jake DePew

C - Justin O'Conner - Ray's #3 prospect
(Baseball America). Played in 21 games to end 2014 season for Montgomery.
Selected 1st round (31st overall) in 2010 out of high school

C - Jake
DePew - Played in 17 games for Montgomery in 2014, 9th round draft choice out of
high school in 2010.

IF - Leonardo Reginatto - Played in 17 games for
Montgomery in 2014, signed by Rays as a 17yr old out of Brazil in
2009.

IF/1B/3B - Cameron Seitzer - Played full seasons in Montgomery in
2013 and 2014. Returns for 3rd year. Drafted by Rays in 11th round 2011 draft
from University of Oklahoma. Great defensive 1st baseman, possibly the best
defensive Biscuit first bagger.

Kes Carter

IF/3B - Richie Shaffer - Played 2014 full
season in Montgomery, 1st round draft pick 2012 (25th overall) out of Clemson
University. Started 2014 struggling at AA level, but started to heat up in
August. Rated 18th Rays prospect (Baseball America)

OF - Kes Carter -
Played in 56 games for Montgomery in 2014. Drafted 1st round (56 overall) by
Rays in 2011 from Western Kentucky University.

SP - Jared Mortensen -
Pitched in 12 games for Montgomery in 2014 w/ 10 games started. Signed as a
Free Agent in 2013.

RP - Parker Markel - Pitched for 16 games in
Montgomery in 2014. Drafted by Rays 39th round out of Yavapia College in
2010.

RP - Matt Lollis - Pitched in 49 games for Montgomery in 2014. Was
acquired as part of a seven player trade with the San Diego Padres, brought Matt
to Rays system. Matt was drafted in 15th round of 2009 by Padres from Riverside
Community College.

New Faces

IF/2B - Tommy Coyle played in 2014
for Charlotte Stone Crabs. Was 16th round draft pick from University of North
Carolina in 2012.

IF/1B/3B - Patrick Leonard played in 2014 for
Charlotte, was 5th round draft pick by Kansas City in 2011 out of high school.
Part of James Shield trade, brought Patrick to Rays system. Rated Rays 26th
best prospect.

Daniel Robertson

IF/SS Daniel Robertson played 2014 for Stockton. Drafted
by Oakland 1st round (34th overall) out of high school in 2012. Was brought to
Rays system as part of Ben Zobrist trade to Oakland in offseason. Was ranked as
Oakland A's top prospect before the trade.

OF - Johnny Field Jr. played
2014 at Bowling Green and Charlotte. Drafted in the 5th round of 2013 out of
the University of Arizona. Named Rays Minor League Player of the Year for
2014. Rated as Rays 27th prospect.

OF - Tyler Goeddel played 2014 in
Charlotte. Drafted in the 1st round (41st overall) out of high school in 2011.
17th rated Rays prospect.

OF - Boog Powell played 2014 in Beloit and
Stockton. Was in same trade that brought Daniel Robertson to the Rays system.
Was rated as A's 21st prospect before the trade. Drafted by A's in 20th round
out of Orange Coast College.

SP - Jamie Schultz - Split 2014 between
Bowling Green and Charlotte. Drafted by Rays in 14th round of 2013 draft out of
High Point University.

SP - Austin Pruitt - Pitched in Charlotte for 2014
season. Drafted by Rays in the 9th round out of the University of
Houston.

Reinaldo Lopez

SP - Reinaldo Lopez - Pitched the 2014 season for Charlotte.
Signed by Rays in 2008 as a 16 year old out of Venezuela.

SP - Mikey
O'Brien - Pitched 2014 at three stops in the Reds' organization. Made 4
appearances against the Biscuits while at Pensacola. Rays acquired Mikey in
2015 Minor League Rule 5 draft.

RP - Mark Sappington - Pitched 2014 for
Arkansas and Inland of the Angels system. Was traded to the Rays November of
2014. Originally drafted in 5th round by Angels out of Rockhurst University.
Entered 2013 as Angels #9 prospect.

RP - Colton Reavis - Pitched at
Bowling Green and Charlotte in 2014. Drafted by the Rays in 30th round of 2013
out of Northwoods University

RP -
Zach Cooper - Pitched for Charlotte and Gulf Coast Rays in 2014, acquired by
Rays as a Free Agent in 2014.

Bradin Hagens

RP - Jhan Marinez - Pitched for Toledo and
Chattanooga in 2014, acquired as a minor league free agent in 2015. Jhan has
pitched briefly in majors with the Marlins and White Sox. Originally signed by
the Marlins as an 18 year old in 2006.

RP - Bradin Hagens - Pitched in
Diamondbacks organization in 2014. Three stops including the Major Leagues with
Arizona, also with Mobile and Reno. Bradin was drafted by Arizona 6th round of
2009 draft out of Merced college, traded to Rays 04/05/2015.

PRAT = NEW STAT

One new stat that I will use
in the review of teams that visit Riverwalk Stadium is the P-RAT (prospect
rating). The P-RAT is a simple rating system using the 2015 Baseball America
Prospect Guide as a reference.

The purpose of the P-RAT is to give us a
reference to how loaded each team that plays at Riverwalk is with top
prospects. This should also give us a stick to measure how good each team is
that plays at Riverwalk.

The higher the P-RAT for a team, the better the team should be on the field. This could also alert autograph seekers which
teams are prospect rich, and the best players to seek out for
autographs.

Mr.850's 2015 Season in ReviewApril 9-13 Chattanooga
Lookouts

Opening night of 2015 season brings the Lookouts to town for a
five game series with the new Biscuits. The Lookouts new being fed from the
Minn Twins system are loaded with talent, the top three prospects in the Twins
organization are on hand.

Buxton, opening day 2015

Byron Buxton rated the Twins top prospect playing
centerfield, Miguel Sano rated at number two is playing third base, and Jose Berrios is
number three as a starting pitcher.

Buxton and Sano would probably not be
playing at this level if they had not had short seasons in 2014 because of
injury. Buxton is regarded as either #1 or #2 prospoect in all of minor league
baseball and Sano is in the top 15.

In addition to these three studs, the
Lookouts have eight other top 30 prospects for the Twins suiting up. It is hard
to believe that we will ever see another team this blessed with top talent will
ever be at Riverwalk again.

These Lookouts are like the Hailey's Comet of
prospect loaded teams.

The new look Biscuits also have some interesting talent,
but it looks like it will take time for team to gel, and it will be tough to
start out against a loaded team like the Lookouts.

The Biscuits have seven prospects to
start the season, but two - Daniel Robertson and Boog Powell, are new to the
organization from a trade with the Oakland A's that involved Ben Zobrist.

New Guys D-rob and Booger on the way to the Gump

OPENING SERIES
The game of the series
happened to be on opening night, and may have tipped that 2015 would not be an
ordinary season for the team. First, the weather was great - 83deg. at first
pitch, the last few opening nights rain was a factor.

Both teams struggled to
get going offensively until the Lookouts scored two runs in the 5th inning and
then added insurance with one in the 9th on a homer from Miguel Sano.

Going
into the bottom of the ninth inning the only bright spot for the 'Skits was that
they set a team record, striking out the Lookouts 20 times, but had only managed
seven hits and no runs through eight innings. The Biscuits looked like they
would add to their opening night futility, a record of 2-9 on opening looked to
become 2-10. The Lookouts brought in their closer and #7 prospect in Nick
Burdi, and things got weird.

Burdi walked Shaffer and Leonard to bring the
tying run to the plate with no outs. Justin O'Conner singled to load the bases
with no outs, but strikeouts by Goeddel and Seitzer brought the game down to
bases loaded and two outs. Johnny Field Jr. was walked next to give the
Biscuits their first RBI of the season.

Tommy Coyle was walked by Burdi to
bring the 'Skits to a 3-2 deficit, and Burdi was replaced by Cole Johnson who
gave up a 1-2 count single by Boog Powell for an unreal come from behind 4-3
Biscuits win. This finish was an omen that this Biscuits team was different
than the teams of last seven years.

SERIES WRAP

The rest of the series with the
Lookouts would end with the Biscuits losing the next four games. While the
first four starters pitched well for the Biscuits, the bullpen was handing out
runs like candy on Halloween.

The Biscuits bullpen was on the hook for 18 of
the 30 Lookout runs scored, actually the fifth starter is a relief guy, that
would make 24 of 30 runs scored on pitchers that would represent the Montgomery
bullpen.

The first four starters (Schultz, Pruitt, Mortensen, and Lopez) would
only give up 6 runs, 4 earned in 21 1/3 innings. Also, the starters struck out
33 Lookouts and only issued 4 walks.

Even without the top pitching prospects
the Rays usually start us with, this could be a decent starting staff. The
bullpen could be very problematic though, if we don't get any help from the
Rays.

The Biscuit offense scoring only 14 runs in 5 games started off slow but
shows signs of improvement if they can start to group their hits together and
add some free bases from walks.

The main offense from this series was supplied
by Johnny Field Jr., Richie Shaffer, Justin O'Conner and Tommy
Coyle.

Player of the SeriesJohnny Wholestaff

The first four starters, (Schultz,
Pruitt, Mortensen and Lopez) share the award, holding the powerful
Lookouts lineup to: 4 ER in 21 1/3 innings with 33SO and only four BB deserves
the award.

Notable was weather delayed the last two games of the series,
but both games were completed. The last game on Monday, a Grand Slam School Day
was the first GSS day that was kidless as the threat of bad weather cancelled
the children, but the game was played and completed after a delay to
start.

April
9 Biscuits 4-3

10 Lookouts 2-6
11 Lookouts
3-4
12 Lookouts 0-6
13 Lookouts 5-11

Biscuits record for
April: 1-4 home, 0-0 road
5th place, three games behind
No transactions to report

April 15-19 @Jacksonville Suns

After a day off the Biscuits got on the bus to Jacksonville, Florida to take on the Suns for their first road series of the year. The Suns are an affiliate of the Miami Marlins, and defending Southern League Champions. The Suns are not as loaded with talent as the Lookouts, and should give the Biscuits a more realistic look how they could fare versus the rest of the Southern League for 2015.

Game 1 versus the Suns would start with a weather delay, making it three games in a row that weather played a roll. The weather was not the only trend that was negative for the Biscuits. The bullpen would continue to hand out runs, losing both games 1 & 2 at Jville. Starting pitchers Schultz and Pruitt both pitched well, only to see the bullpen lose both games by a score of 3-2.

The next ugly trend, the Biscuits lack of ability to drive in runners in scoring position. During the series with the Suns, the Skits only pushed 8 of the 47 runners in scoring position across the plate. After seven games into the 2015 season the butter and blue were a dismal 1-6 for the worst start in Biscuits history.

The game of the series would be the third game vs the Suns, with another 3-2 final - but this time the good guys would finish on top. Playing in front of the largest crowd of the series on Friday night, the Biscuits jumped out to a 2-0 lead. in the second inning with RBI's from Goeddel and Reginatto. Goeddel hit a solo shot with two outs in the 4th to stretch the lead to 3-0.

The Biscuits held a three run lead through six. The bullpen came in and gave up a pair of runs, shrinking the Skits lead to 3-2. With runners on the corners one out, Jhan Marinez was able to close out the game. The 3-2 win gave the Biscuits many firsts for the season (1st road win, 1st win by a starting pitcher - Mortensen, and 1st save of the year)

Also ending the six game losing streak, the Biscuits were ready to string some wins together. Jared Mortensen threw six scoreless innings with four strikeouts to help right the ship, and the bullpen did just enough to close out the Suns in game 3.

Game 4 would see the offense come out of it's shell winning 12-5. The Biscuits would have 4 home runs from three players (Field 2, Coyle, Robertson). Also, four players with multiple RBI's (Field 4, Goeddel 3, Robertson 3, Coyle 2).

Game 5 Would see Tampa Bay Rays starting lefty Drew Smyly pitch the first 3.2 scoreless innings in a rehab start. Followed by Bradin Hagens strong four innings and Jhan Marinez second save to lift the Biscuits to a 2-0 victory. Offensively an RBI by Robertson and a solo shot by Justin O'Conner were enough to give the Biscuits a three game winning streak as they boarded the bus back to Montgomery for a ten game home-stand with Mobile and Jackson.PLAYER OF THE SERIES
Player of the series was pretty clear cut as outfielder Tyler Goeddel was on fire. Tyler was 8 of 17 with 2 homers, 2 stolen bases, 4 runs, and 6 RBI's. Goeddel was able to improve his season batting average from .200 to .344 during the series.